Hundreds of Sussex blood donors sign up during Rugby World Cup

More than 1,500 people in West Sussex signed up to give blood during a campaign held at the same time as the Rugby World Cup.

In 11 weeks, 1,527 people who have never given blood before registered to give blood during NHS Blood and Transplant’s #BleedForEngland campaign.

The campaign urged people to sign up to donate blood to help patients as well as support their own team during the world’s biggest rugby tournament.

NHS Blood and Transplant wanted to encourage 100,000 people to register as blood donors between England’s first warm-up game and by the last whistle of the tournament, 101,295 had signed up.

Jon Latham, assistant director of donor services at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to the well-known rugby players and organisations who have given up their time freely to support the campaign.

“We’re delighted that more than 100,000 new donors have committed to save lives by donating blood and it’s great that so many people in West Sussex signed up.

“We’d now like everybody who signed up to book their first appointment and commit to attending a session to save lives.

“We appreciate your first donation can be quite nerve-wracking but players like Jonny, Martin, Ben, Jason and Maggie have shown just how easy it is to do.”

Donated blood is vital for life-saving procedures, including helping patients with cancer or undergoing operations.

To book an appointment, visit www.blood.co.uk or call 0300 123 23 23.

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